I expect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be under increasing attack in the wake of the 2016 Presidential election. Today, the Refuge is one of our last places, at landscape and ecosystem scale, that remains essentially as it has been since before the first intrepid humans crossed into North America. If we drill it now, there is no going back.

During my recent trip to Africa, I was struck by the similarities, and some differences, between Tanzania and Alaska. Both areas have large landscapes, teeming with wildlife, that are special in the world and deserving of our care and attention. And in both places, these ecosystems are still largely intact; while they have challenges, it is not too late in either case to preserve them for our children and grandchildren – indeed, for all posterity.

There are some important similarities between the ecosystems of Tanzania and those in Michigan. I refer specifically to fresh water. Viewed on a combined basis, the North American and African Great Lakes systems constitute nearly half of all the surface fresh water in the world. The potential for conservation collaboration between TNC chapters in Michigan and in Africa is obvious.

On April 4, 2016, my favorite Alaska Dispatch News columnist, Charles Wohlforth, wrote a review of Stephen Haycox’s new book, “Battleground Alaska,” which has the subtitle “Fighting Federal Power in America’s Last Wilderness.” I promptly ordered a copy of the book and noted on social media that I would have to more to say after reading it. Now I have and here it is.

This Northern Passages post is the first one that has ever asked you to take a specific action. Please join the grassroots "We Are the Arctic" campaign to protect the strongest possible protections to the Refuge by signing the petition linked in the post. To sweeten the request, I also have a special offer for you. I hope you will find both the Ask and the Offer to be compelling.